


my crown is cracked

by peachsneakers



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Fluff and Angst, Intrusive Thoughts, M/M, Pre-Acceptance, Profanity, Sympathetic Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Sympathetic Deceit | Janus Sanders, The other sides are kind of jerks, Violent Thoughts, bugs mentioned, dukeceit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-16 16:29:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29085396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peachsneakers/pseuds/peachsneakers
Summary: Remus reflects.
Relationships: Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders/Deceit | Janus Sanders
Comments: 4
Kudos: 67





	my crown is cracked

**Author's Note:**

> lyrics are from grandson "bury me face down"

_When I go into the ground  
I won't go quietly, I'm bringing my crown  
When I go into the ground  
Oh, they gotta bury me, bury me face down_

Remus sits quietly, cross-legged in the middle of his kingdom. His dukedom, shall we say, for it isn't like he has the same amount of the Imagination that his brother does. No, he has a jagged little off-shoot, a broken and brooding outlet that even Thomas pretends doesn't really exist. 

It's not _fair_ , but since when has anything in Remus's life been fair? He isn't even supposed to _exist_ , the others have told him that enough times. The only person on his side is Janus, since Virgil _left_. Came crawling back to the _others_ , ready to drop to his knees and kiss ass if it meant he didn't have to live in the dark anymore. Never mind the shadows are necessary for the light to shine. Big surprise Virgil forgot that little lesson.

It doesn't affect Remus that much anymore (or if it does, it only leads to another outburst of thwarted anger), but he knows it still affects Janus. Sometimes he catches Janus crumpled in his bedsheets, wrapped around Virgil's old hoodie. No matter how many times he takes it away, it always finds its way back into Janus's room, so he's given up on removing it. For now, anyway. He doesn't think it's helping, though. Janus cries even more when he has it.

It doesn't matter, he tells himself, slowly beginning to rock back and forth, then faster and faster. He can hear the others, voices floating across the border. They're having a picnic, or some other boring, banal shit like that. The smell of lemonade and fried chicken wafts his way, making him crinkle his nose. Gross. Give him motor oil and deodorant any day. Or better yet, give him a plate of ravioli, the way Janus makes it. He'll eat something edible if _Janus_ makes it. He doesn't trust Patton farther than he can throw the little bastard. It's his fault Remus is the way he is. Why should he pretend to give a shit?

He leans down, pinching a crumb of dirt off the ground, and whispers to it. It trundles off a second later, heading for the others' picnic. It will gather friends as it goes, and it's small enough that Roman won't detect it until it's too late. But isn't it a tradition, anyway, to have your picnic ruined by ants? They'll probably just pack it up and move it inside, and that's exactly what Remus wants. Some fucking peace and quiet, since there's precious little of it between his ears.

Right now is no different. His mind bubbles and froths with gruesome images, from slamming his morning star on Roman's head to splitting Virgil in half with a meat cleaver. He can stand these thoughts. They're annoying, but more bearable than a fly buzzing round his head.

No, the thoughts he can't stand are the thoughts involving Janus. The ones where he plucks off each individual scale, just to watch him cry. The ones where he's breaking each bone in each of Janus's six arms, watching the splinters of bone work their way through his flesh. The ones-

"Remus, you're thinking too hard," a smooth voice murmurs in his ear. He opens his eyes- when did he close them?- just in time to see Janus neatly tuck himself against his side, heedless of the dirt. Speak of the devil, and there he appears.

Shouts of dismay arise in the distance and Remus grins, a jagged curve of smile that Janus can't help but match.

"Your work?" Janus asks lightly. Remus nods, grinning harder.

"Spoilt their stupid picnic," he says, flicking a rock down the slight incline.

"In that case, we should go inside," Janus offers. "So we have the _perfect_ alibi when your brother decides to come rant about how you ruin everything."

"If I ruined everything, they wouldn't know what hit them," Remus says. His ears roar for one heart-stopping second as Janus tugs him to his feet.

"I know," Janus says. "I look forward to it."

Remus all but skips toward his room. Toward home.


End file.
